Walking Dead season 2 (spoilers)

I loved the show last year - I thought it was well done considering the genre might be hard to translate into a TV series. It was usually very intense as well.

However, this year, they have some intense moments, but I don't see it all the time. Things seem to be going too slowly (Sophia has been missing for 3 episodes now?) and it seems to be a lot of sitting around & waiting. Dale & T-Dogg waiting with the camper... Rick & Lori waiting for Shane (and Otis, RIP)... heck, they haven't even found out Hershel's surprise yet - we're still waiting.

There is a ton of good material in the graphic novels, and I had expected them to follow it somewhat closely, and with that general storyline, I had expected the show to become even more intense.

I feel like this season has been a lot more scary, or at least a lot more intense, than the 1st. I have found the stuff with Carl hanging by a razor's edge very compelling, and it's been difficult watching his parents go through that. And then there's end of the last episode... Whew! Intense.

EDIT: by this I mean what happens to Otis & Shane as they escape the school. I haven't seen the most recent episode yet.

I also appreciate the more philosophical tone that's been going on. The characters have been grappling with their place in the world/group. Why keep going? Why not quit? Most zombie movies address this briefly, but you don't get to see it unfold over time like this.

The roller caster ride the writers gave the audience regarding Carl and Otis was fairly compelling but it really feels strange that the Sophia situation has been drawn out so long. I get the feeling that they wanted to clear the deck for what is to come. It has been well woven between episodes this season but does have less immediate action.

I agree that the Sophia situation has dragged on a bit but at the same time, in TV time it's only been three days and my 'fretting' that she's gone has now turned into 'grief' (I say these in parenthesis because it's not like I'm genuinely feeling these things over a fictional character), because quite frankly after three days the chance of finding her alive is close to nil.

I also both love and loathe that Otis died. On the one hand, I thought he was a cool character and was really hoping he'd get out of the situation alive, especially after it seemed he was a goner and then out of the blue saved Shane's life. I was like, "Whoohoo! He's gonna make it! Yay for the fat man!"

And that made me feel his loss all the more. In the brief time he was in the show, the writers really made me care for him and make me all the more pissed off at Shane's actions. Without all that, I would've been much less inclined to hate Shane

The roller caster ride the writers gave the audience regarding Carl and Otis was fairly compelling but it really feels strange that the Sophia situation has been drawn out so long. I get the feeling that they wanted to clear the deck for what is to come. It has been well woven between episodes this season but does have less immediate action.

True, there have been some compelling storylines, and I think they're setting things up well for future episodes. However, I think all that has gone on could have been compressed into one less episode and kept it just as good.

On the side of stupid was last episode where they pulled the zombie out of the well. First of all, even attempting to drink that water after pulling the zombie out is just insanely retarded, so why pull it out? Second of all, wtf reason was there for sending the kid down there? Am I supposed to believe that no-one in ranch country knows how to tie a friggin lasso? And even if nobody knew how, any slip-knot would do to hook the zombie under the arms, sending someone down the well is just the height of idiocy and isn't something that anyone with an IQ above 80 would do.

It's that kind of crap that will turn me off watching if it continues. Surviving because you're smart and lucky is interesting, surviving despite being a complete moron isn't.

On the side of stupid was last episode where they pulled the zombie out of the well. First of all, even attempting to drink that water after pulling the zombie out is just insanely retarded, so why pull it out? Second of all, wtf reason was there for sending the kid down there? Am I supposed to believe that no-one in ranch country knows how to tie a friggin lasso? And even if nobody knew how, any slip-knot would do to hook the zombie under the arms, sending someone down the well is just the height of idiocy and isn't something that anyone with an IQ above 80 would do.

It's that kind of crap that will turn me off watching if it continues. Surviving because you're smart and lucky is interesting, surviving despite being a complete moron isn't.

As long as the Water Table itself is not over run with the virus eventually the well would filter itself out and be clean...that's most likely what they were thinking.

True, there have been some compelling storylines, and I think they're setting things up well for future episodes. However, I think all that has gone on could have been compressed into one less episode and kept it just as good.

I haven't read the graphic novels so my perspective on this is limited.